Tag: Michael Palardy

Cardinals fill roster vacancy ahead of practice in Week 16

They added punter Michael Palardy to the active roster.

The Arizona Cardinals had an opening on the active roster to begin Week 16. That is no longer the case. The team announced that it signed punter Michael Palardy to the active roster from the practice squad.

Palardy was signed to the practice squad last week after Blake Gillikin injured his foot against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 14. Gillikin was later placed on injured reserve and Palardy was elevated to the active roster for the game on Sunday against the New England Patriots.

He punted twice on Sunday, averaging 48.5 yards with a touchback. He had a net average of 35.5 yards.

Kicker Chad Ryland also made all six of his kicks (three field goals, three extra points) with Palardy as the holder.

Palardy presumably will handle punting and holding duties for at least the rest of the regular season.

If the Cardinals make the playoffs, Gillikin would be eligible to return if healthy.

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Blake Gillikin’s injury leads to Cardinals signing veteran punter to practice squad

With Blake Gillikin’s ankle injury looming, the Cardinals added a veteran punter to the practice squad in Week 15.

The Arizona Cardinals had to finish their 30-18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday without punter Blake Gillikin, who suffered an ankle injury. Because his status for the team’s Week 15 game against the New England Patriots is up in the air, the Cardinals added a punter to the team.

They announced the signing of veteran punter Michael Palardy to the practice squad, and released offensive lineman Keith Ismael from it to make room for him.

Palardy was one of five punters to try out on Tuesday.

Palardy is 32 years old and has been in the NFL since he was an undrafted free agent signed by the Raiders in 2014. In his career, he has appeared in 80 total games including Carolina, Miami and New England and has been with 10 different teams. He last played in 2022 and was last with a team in 2023 training camp with the Washington Commanders.

He has a career punting average of 44.9 yards and career net of 39.8. With the Panthers, Palardy averaged 45.3 yards with a 40.3 net and averaged 44.7 yards with the Dolphins and also a 40.3 net. His brief tenure with the Patriots resulted in a 42.7 average and 36.3 net.

The Cardinals will also make another practice squad move by Thursday, as cornerback Divaad Wilson was signed off the practice squad by the New York Giants to their active roster.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Why the Broncos worked out a left-footed player this week

The Broncos worked out left-footed punter Michael Palardy on Wednesday before facing Pittsburgh’s Corliss Waitman on Sunday.

The Denver Broncos brought in a punter for a tryout on Wednesday, but Riley Dixon‘s job is not in jeopardy.

The Broncos hosted Michael Palardy, according to the NFL’s transaction wire (via KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis). Palardy, 32, is left-footed, and that’s no coincidence.

After losing Cameron Johnston to a season-ending injury, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed former Denver punter Corliss Waitman, who is now set to play against the Broncos on Sunday.

Waitman is left-footed and, believe it or not, catching a punt from a lefty has a different spin than catching a punt from a right-footed punter. Dixon, Denver’s current punter, is right-footed, so he can’t simulate the kind of punts Waitman will deliver on Sunday afternoon.

So, presumably to give Marvin Mims and Tremon Smith practice reps fielding a left-footed punt, the Broncos gave Palardy a tryout on Wednesday. Assuming it went well, Palardy could also be considered as a fallback option down the road if Dixon is ever unavailable.

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Giants work out several punters, one long snapper

The New York Giants worked out three punters and one long snapper, who is a familiar face, on Wednesday in East Rutherford.

The New York Giants reportedly worked out four players on Wednesday in hopes of fortifying their injury-riddled roster.

Cam Lyons is a long snapper who spent all summer with the Giants but was released during the team’s final cuts before the regular season.

Pat O’Donnell, Michael Palardy and Corliss Waitman are all punters with NFL experience the Giants brought in just in case Jamie Gillan (groin) can’t go this week against the Philadelphia Eagles.

None of the four were immediately signed by multiple transactions are expected in the coming day.

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Washington releases Michael Palardy

Former Vol Michael Palardy released by Washington.

Former Tennessee kicker and punter Michael Palardy was released by Washington.

Palardy signed with the Commanders Aug. 20.

He appeared in Washington’s preseason game versus Baltimore on Aug. 21 and was released following the contest, a 29-28 victory over the Ravens.

Palardy recorded two punts and averaged 52 yards per attempt. Both punts were inside the 20-yard line.

Palardy played in 46 games for the Vols from 2010-13 as a punter and kicker.

He converted 109-of-115 extra point attempts, 37-of-50 field goal attempts and averaged 42.2 yards per punt.

Palardy appeared in 80 games with Carolina (2016-20), Miami (2021) and New England (2022), while averaging 44.9 yards per punt in the NFL.

Joey Slye wins kicking job as Commanders make roster moves

Slye will be Washington’s kicker again in 2023.

The Washington Commanders were off from practice Sunday as they prepare for Monday’s night preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens from FedEx Field.

While the players received a much-needed day off, the front office was busy making tweaks to the roster. With the new NFL rule that all roster cuts can be made at once, the new deadline for teams is Aug. 29 to trim rosters from 90 players to 53.

On Sunday, the Commanders cut two players — and signed two, keeping them at 90 players.

The outgoing players are kicker Michael Badgley and wide receiver Jalen Sample. Washington signed defensive tackle Isaiah Mack and punter Michael Palardy to replace them.

Badgley was signed just before training camp to compete with Joey Slye. The Commanders like Slye. He has a strong leg, has made some big field goals and is excellent on kickoffs. He made 25 of 30 field goals in 2022 but missed four PATs.

While Badgley pushed Slye, it was clear that the incumbent was the clear winner this summer. Slye will enter his third season with Washington.

Sample was a 6-foot-4 undrafted free agent from Minnesota State-Mankato who was stuck down the depth chart at one of the strongest positions on Washington’s roster.

Mack is a 6-foot-1, 299-pound defensive tackle from UT Chattanooga. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2019 with the Tennessee Titans. He has also spent time on the rosters of the Patriots, Broncos, Steelers, Ravens, Seahawks and Jets. The Jets released Mack on Aug. 8 after he was signed in January. He has appeared in 23 games with 11 tackles.

Palardy, 31, has been in the NFL since 2014. He has spent time on the rosters of the Raiders, Rams, Panthers, Ravens, Colts, Browns, Falcons, Panthers [again], Dolphins and Patriots. His longest stint was with Carolina from 2016-20, when he was current Washington head coach Ron Rivera’s punter. He has punted in 80 career games and averaged 44.9 yards per punt.

Palardy is the second punter Washington since this preseason due to a minor back injury to Tress Way. Like he did in last week’s preseason opener, Way will hold in the game, but will not punt, opening the door for Palardy.

 

9 former Patriots players who are still free agents

Here are the last remaining former Patriots players still listed as free agents.

After one week of free agency, the New England Patriots have managed to re-sign the vast majority of their pending free agents since the turn of the new league year.

They’ve also lost some key players as well, including wideout Jakobi Meyers and running back Damien Harris.

But not everyone has been picked up by another team yet. There are still some considerably noteworthy names swimming in the massive pool of free agency. For New England, that number has dwindled all the way down to 10 players left on the list.

Here are the former Patriots players still waiting to be signed in free agency.

Does this stat prove Patriots have the worst punters in NFL?

Do the Patriots have the worst punters?

Yes, the punting has been atrocious for the New England Patriots this season. But has it been the worst in the NFL?

A recent statistic from Puntalytics suggests that might be the case.

Both of the Patriots’ punters, Jake Bailey and Michael Palardy, are ranked dead last in punter EPA for 2022. Granted, no one needed an advanced statistic to know just how horrendous the punting has been this season. A simple eye test has been enough to make diehard Patriots fans bang their heads against the wall.

Yet, in a graph that featured NFL punters with at least 17 punts this season, both Bailey and Palardy ranked dead last in the league.

Ouch.

Bailey’s season officially ended on Friday after missing his return window from injured reserve. He has been hampered with a back injury throughout most of the season, which resulted in the team turning to Palardy.

Granted, Bailey had already been struggling up until the point of his exit. So the hope was that Palardy could step in and give the team a noticeable boost at the position, but that clearly hasn’t happened.

To make matters worse, the Patriots made Bailey one of the league’s top-three highest-paid punters back in August. So seeing him ranked second-to-last behind Palardy in this statistic is disappointing, to say the least.

Of course, one bad season shouldn’t close the book on Bailey’s journey in New England. There’s still hope he comes back healthier and turns things around in 2023. The Patriots would have never forked over a four-year, $13.5 million contract and a fifth-round draft pick if they didn’t believe in his talent.

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Former Dolphins P Michael Palardy signs with division rival’s active roster

They’ve placed their starting punter on injured reserve.

During the offseason, the Miami Dolphins opted to bring in veteran punter Thomas Morstead to do the punting and holding for their team led by a new head coach.

Morstead replaced Michael Palardy, who didn’t have his best year in his lone season in South Florida. He was 24th in the league in yards per punt (44.7), but he finished third in punts inside the 20-yard line (31).

Palardy went unsigned through the offseason, but he found himself on the New England Patriots’ practice squad at the beginning of the month. Now, with their starting punter, Jake Bailey, placed on injured reserve, Palardy has been signed to their active roster.

The 30-year-old could handle punting, holding and kick-off duties for New England while Bailey is sidelined, meaning Miami could see their old friend when the two teams face off on New Year’s Day in Foxboro.

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Patriots place second starter in two days on injured reserve

Another Patriots starter is headed to injured reserve

A day after placing standout defensive tackle Christian Barmore on injured reserve, the New England Patriots announced they had placed punter Jake Bailey on IR as well on Saturday.

Despite coming off a bye week, injuries have obviously still been an issue for the Patriots.

In a corresponding move, the team also announced they were signing veteran punter Michael Palardy to their 53-man roster. The change comes at a time when Bailey was clearly struggling.

There had been other punters brought in to workout with the team with hopes of seeing what else is out there and possibly even lighting a fire under the 25-year-old punter.

The Patriots showed good faith by making Bailey one of the highest-paid punters in the league. So far, things haven’t turned out the way they expected. Now, Palardy will have a legitimate opportunity to take the starting job with Bailey out for at least the next four games.

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